San Francisco Marathon Day!

I was at the start line before 5:30am. Just barely. After finding my place in the crowd, the countdown began. We didn't begin running right away, but it didn't take long to pick up the pace.

The route took us around the wharf, past lots of piers and boats in the bay then over the Golden Gate Bridge. We did a u-turn for a water stop then ran back over the bridge. Next it was through Golden Gate park with lots of birds, big trees, lakes, flowers, and a few buffalo to look at. (Who knew there is a pin of buffalo in Golden Gate park?) The last six miles were through some neighborhoods and businesses followed by running by the AT&T Baseball Park and under the Bay Bridge.

All together it was 26.2 miles, which is just over 42 km. Before running the marathon I didn't pay much attention to the .2 part at the end, but after 26 miles and no finish line in sight, it seemed like quite a long .2. I finished in 4 hours and 24 minutes. For my first marathon, I was quite happy with it.

After a shower and a sandwich, my parents and I went to explore the Sutro Baths and beach area. This is the view from the cliff house. There were lots of people enjoying the warm (by San Francisco standards) day, surfing, picnicing, and playing in the water. We finished off the day with a famous bread bowl of chowder near the bay.